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Undefeated Russian Nurmagomedov (28-0) last competed a year ago, also in Abu Dhabi, retaining his belt against then-interim champion Dustin Poirier. And on Saturday, he again defends the belt against an interim champion, with knockout artist and wrestling specialist Gaethje (22-2) having secured that status with a dominating win over Tony Ferguson in his last outing earlier this year.
This weekend’s main event likely features the toughest test of Nurmagomedov’s career, and marks The Eagle’s first fight since the passing of his father and head coach Abdulmanap in July.
The co-main event, meanwhile, sees former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (21-5) take on the goofy Jared Cannonier (13-4) in what is almost certainly the number one contender fight, and it is expected. have the winner face next. Israel Adesanya: The man who took the title from Australian Whittaker a year ago.
Here’s everything you need to know about UFC 254:
In a rare treat for UK fans, the main card will begin at 7pm BST on Saturday.
That follows the preliminaries, which start at 5pm BST, and the early preliminary card, which starts at 3.30pm BST.
UK fans can view the main card on BT Sport Box Office HD, as well as on the broadcaster’s site and app, for a fee of £ 19.95. The preliminaries will be broadcast to BT Sport subscribers free of charge.
In the US, the main card will air on ESPN +, which, along with ESPN, will show the preliminaries. Both channels will also broadcast the first preliminaries, as will the UFC Fight Pass.
Khabib Nurmagomedov (C) vs Justin Gaethje (IC) – lightweight
Robert Whittaker vs Jared Cannonier – middleweight
Alexander Volkov vs Walt Harris – heavyweight
Jacob Malkoun vs Phil Hawes – middleweight
Lauren Murphy vs Liliya Shakirova – women’s flyweight
Magomed Ankalaev vs Ion Cutelaba – light heavyweight
Stefan Struve vs Tai Tuivasa – heavyweight
Nathaniel Wood vs Casey Kenney – catch weight (140 pounds)
Alex Oliveira vs Shavkat Rakhmonov – welterweight
Jung Da Un vs Sam Alvey – light heavyweight
Umar Nurmagomedov vs Sergey Morozov – bantamweight
Liana Jojua vs Miranda Maverick – women’s flyweight
Joel Alvarez vs Alexander Yakovlev – lightweight
